1979 was a great year for music, probably my best. The first 2 Fall albums, Joy Division, Echo And The Bunnymen, Metal Box, Swell Maps first album (I loved it anyway), The Raincoats first album, Cut by The Slits, Cabaret Voltaire, Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark (before they became shit), A Certain Ratio, Setting Sons by The Jam, Talking Heads, 154 by Wire, Futurama et seq, et seq et seq....
I remember doing a C90 tape of my favourite songs of the year and playing it for some friends at Christmas. How good must that tape have been? What great stuff must I have had to leave off?
Since then I've enjoyed listening to all types of music, some of it great (The Smiths, Steve Earle, various African albums spring to mind) but nothing has touched 1979.
A lot of it is maybe down to Old Father Time. I was 17/18 in 1979, full of youthful energy, excitement and optimism. It was before I got married and had a family. I hadn't been ground down by my mundane working life. It was before I became cynical old man.
Some of that maybe true. It was 32 years ago. I battle on a daily basis with the mundanity of my work, I can be cynical (who could fail in this day and age) and youthful energy? Ha ha!
But that was then and this is now and I certainly never saw it coming. Although not as good as 1979 I award 2011 the silver medal in my best musical years. Way ahead of other vintage years (1980, 1977 and 1978 (I think in that order). I have documented much (but not all) of it and posted lots of photos here and LJ, it's been a blast. I honestly can't remember enjoying music and associated (especially local) culture as much as this year, possibly even 1979 included. Old man's appreciation? Who cares and the best thing is, health permitting I'm going to do it all again next year (tickets already bagged for Explosions In The Sky, The Leisure Society, Fanfarlo, No Direction Home, Wagner and EOTR).
So, over the few remaining days of this year I'm going to look back over the year and document what has been inspirational, what has been great and what has simply been good in 2011 or maybe I should just do a compilation tape?
Mmmm.... tempting.
1979 - Reproduction by The Human League and Original Sin by Cowboys International CLASSICS
ReplyDeleteThe Fat Lad
Great post, Geoff. I linked this one up on my FB page, for all the good that does. A welcome reminder of all the treasures of that period we so quickly forgot, if not actively disowned, when the the fashion suddenly swung towards the more commercial musical ethic of the 80s. At the time that seemed like progress, in tune with leaving behid the grey austere socialist 70s for the bright blue new consumerism of the Thatcher years. I love Scritti Politti's Sweetest Girl, but in retrospect it was a sort of Trojan Horse. For some reason I think of 1980 as the golden year, but I think personal reasons intrude there. You've reminded me about that first Raincoats LP. That was really so good. I haven't listened to their stuff in years and years, but I think I'm going to have to now.
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